Metastatic ovarian cancer cells identified by unique deformation properties

Ovarian cancer cells may acquire the ability to penetrate the walls of blood vessels and relocate to different tissues through the blood to form another detectable tumour; such cells are described as metastatic and require the ability to deform and re-shape. The flexibility of ovarian cancer cells could be a valuable biomarker used to identify malignant and life-threatening cancer cells. Ovarian cancer is a particularly malicious disease. In England between 2005 and 2009, only 42.9% of those that contracted the disease were expected to survive for five years or more.

In order to relocate, metastatic cancer cells must penetrate a barrier called the basement membrane, which surrounds blood vessels. Upon binding to the basement membrane using specific cell-surface receptors, the cancer cells secrete enzymes which degrade part of the barrier. Deformation of the cell to push through an entrance to the blood vessels is possible because of an unusually irregular and disorganised arrangement of the actin microfilament network. This actin network is a component of the cellular scaffolding and determines a cell’s mechanical properties. A technique called Atomic Force Microscopy measures the force required to make a small indentation in the cell membrane of cells derived from cancerous cell lines; the ease of deformation in ovarian cancer cells could be used to distinguish them from benign cancer cells.

Further studies are required using cancer cells obtained from patients to fully gauge the usefulness of deformation properties as a biomarker. However, if softness does prove to be a successful biomarker in physiological conditions, it could be used as a rapid, accurate and non-invasive measure of cancer cell metastatic potential and may enhance personalised cancer treatments.